​​​WISCONSIN BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

I am drafting this article on the Monday following WBH’s 85th annual membership convention. My personal assessment of the convention is that it was a GOOD convention for all who attended. I am sorry for any of you who had to miss it because of prior or other conflicting obligations. 

Art Helin was the WBH Convention keynote speaker this year. Along with being the keynote speaker, Art gave a very informative seminar during the day. During the awards banquet, Art had a very enjoyable presentation that contained many references to hunting with his father. This had many members chuckling and remembering the good times that they had while hunting or in the great outdoors with their own fathers. Art also donated a prize package worth over $500 to be raffled off at Saturday night’s banquet. Thank You Art for your contributions to this year’s convention. 
There were auctions, both silent and live, along with a great many raffles at this year’s convention. One of these raffles, The Special Convention Raffle, was a turkey blind and contents that was worth more than $600. I believe it was well supported based on the number of tickets that were bought by WBH members for it. The Bucket Raffles as usual had many very worthwhile items to buy tickets for. Just as it has been in the previous 2 years, the Hoyt Archery gift certificate worth $2,500 plus dollars was the biggest attraction. As part of the convention, WBH once again sponsored a NASP tournament. The tournament started on Friday evening and continued for most of the day on Saturday. This is a great opportunity for the youth who participate to see who and what WBH is all about. I am not sure of the exact number, but normally there are around 200 youth shooters who attend this shoot. 
During the Annual WBH Membership meeting the 2025 final financial audit was presented and approved. The 2026 WBH annual budget did have some discussion because there was an accounting adjustment made which left some members with questions that they needed answered. The 2026 proposed budget that was being presented was approved.
Two other items that were discussed during this meeting were WBH Individual Life Memberships and WBH Individual Membership fees. It was decided that the WBH Individual Life Membership would be set at $1,000. A motion was made and approved by those present to raise the WBH annual Individual memberships effective beginning January 1, 2027. Those WBH Membership Fee increases are as follows. 
  1-Year WBH Individual membership goes from $25 to a fee of $35
3- Year WBH Individual membership goes from $60 to a fee of $90
5-Year WBH Individual membership goes from $100 to a fee of $150
The WBH Annual Membership Convention in 2027 will again be held in Stevens Point, WI. The date of the 2027 convention will be Saturday, March 6, 2027. The daily agenda for this convention will be similar to that of the previous 2 years convention agendas. Greg Prince has a convention speaker lined up but the final negotiations have not been completed, so I cannot divulge his name yet. 
For the past several years, you have seen in the magazine that the WBH Board of Directors would accept and appreciate any help a member is willing to contribute at the convention or at any other event WBH is sponsoring or attending. At this time, I would like to offer up a huge shout out to Linda Brissom. This year, Linda called me and volunteered to help at the convention; so, I gladly accepted her offer. Linda showed up and helped out wherever WBH needed her throughout the day. Once again, THANK YOU, Linda!!!  I along with WBH greatly appreciated the help you provided. 
3 years ago, WBH started a WBH Corporate Sponsor Program. Since this program started, WBH has acquired 5 corporate sponsors willing to support WBH. Hoyt Archery has been a WBH Gold Sponsor for all 3 years. Hoyt contributes a gift certificate to WBH for a bow and accessories worth $2,500 plus. Over that same 3-year period Chase Outdoors and Stay Sharp broadhead sharpeners have been on board as Bronze Corporate sponsors. This means these two businesses have each contributed $500 plus to WBH. For 2026, we added 2 new sponsors to the fold. Lowdown Viewers came on board as a WBH Bronze Corporate Sponsor and Tactacam came on board and became the first WBH Diamond Corporate Sponsor, meaning Tactacam contributed $5,000 plus to WBH. Tactacam provided a cellular camera, solar panel, and battery for each first-place winner in the men’s, women’s, and youth divisions of the awards program. These awards were for the following harvest categories; whitetail buck typical, whitetail buck non-typical, black bear, typical turkey, and non-typical turkey. Tactacam also contributed a $1,000 check to help cover the costs of the award plaques, making Tactacam’s contribution to WBH worth more than $5,400. I would like to offer up a big THANK YOU to Tactacam for this contribution. 
Now we need to shift gears. WBH on an average, has been losing members at the rate of approximately 100 members per year over the past several years. Yes, I do realize many of us are getting up in age, and some are passing away and going to the happy hunting grounds. Again, as I have asked in previous President’s messages PLEASE talk to your friends and relatives, tell them about WBH and the benefits they can and do receive by being a member. I personally challenged myself in January to try and sign up one new member per month. Since then, I have added 4 new members to the WBH ranks. If each of us would make it a goal to just sign up 1 new member, WBH would double its membership in less than a year. Currently, WBH now has under 4,000 members. Please help!!!
At this year’s convention WBH had two board members decide not to run for reelection. Chris Schultz was a great addition to the BOD because of his banking background. Chris served on the Budget and Finance committee. Chris also has a passion for getting youth into the activity we all enjoy, bow hunting. Also not running for reelection was Ruth Albrecht. Ruth was at the helm of starting WBH’s Youth Bow Loaner Program, which has been a very positive program for WBH. Thank You Chris and Ruth for your years of time, dedication, and contributions to WBH.